App Store Listings Unethical

Nope, I'm not talking about developers adding special characters or numbers to their app names to get attention, I'm PO'd about Apple engaging in false presentation of apps.

A "Featured" list would be fine to display apps whose developers pay advertising revenue to Apple. I would think the apps in the banners at the top of the AppStore or in that band below "New" listings would fit that bill.

Unfortunately, Apple seems to be deliberately making all their lists on the splash page "featured" lists, making it difficult for consumers to find and choose apps. This is misleading, and unfair.

For example, I browsed the app store on launch day, and want to check to see if any new apps have been released (updates I don't need - get them automatically). You would think that the place to look is at the top of the apps store under the new heading. Unfortunately, if you click to display 'new' you get a very abbreviated list of apps, many of them not new at all. Furthermore that list comes presorted with 'featured'. If you sort by 'release date', you get reverse chronological order, but again it is missing many, many apps. For example, there are no apps listed for 17 July there. See this screen shot:

If you go to the pane on the left of the app store, and select "All iPhone (or iPod Touch) Applications", and then sort by "release date" you get a very different list that isn't included under the "New" heading. Yup, several released on 17 July. Sure, some of these are updates, but not all of them. Apple isn't doing us any favors by misleading us, and is wasting my time in particular.

Another example is from the "Games" listing in the left sidebar. If you click that, you get a page with frames for different categories of games, such as Action/Adventure, Casino/Card, Family/Kids, Racing/Arcade... I was trying to find a Solitaire game that I was playing as a web app - Cookie Bonus Solitaire. I clicked on the "See all" link for Casino/Card Games and I get this very small list of games:

There, that's it. Just eight games! And no Cookie Bonus Solitaire. I could find CBS by searching for its name in the PowerSearch. And if I search for "solitaire" alone, I get TWENTY TWO apps (including a few MahJong type games).

WTF is going on, Apple? Are you deliberately misleading customers to make certain developer's products fail? Or are you truly this selfish that you cannot do what's best for the consumer? Very, very disappointing, unethical, immoral, and plain stupid.

Please fix this yesterday.

Top Ten Reasons I won't be getting an iPhone (in Japan)

10. SoftBank will run out of them quickly.

9. Some SoftBank dealers are racist and charge gaijin extra money and/or won't sell to them if they can't show a long-term Japanese visa.

8. I wouldn't be able to activate one right now anyway.

7. SoftBank's signal coverage is worse than AU, my current carrier.

6. The iPhone isn't waterproof, like my Casio G'Zone

5. My wife won't switch to SoftBank, so texting will be a bitch, and cost more.

4. Even ¥7300 yen per month is too much! My wife and I have two phones for ¥5000-6300 per month (total) with AU. Beat that, SoftBank.

3. Another "Made in China" product.

2. I rarely use the phone anyway, and I already have an iPod Touch.

And the number one reason is:

1. Frankly, I spend too much time on the internet already. I don't need more access to online content.

Wussy Nation #1

Note: Often foreigners living in Japan encounter things they can't understand or rationalize. These may both amuse and infuriate us at the same time. Posts under this heading in MacKenchi will describe such experiences.

Yesterday, while riding on the JR Yokohama line to Hashimoto, a ko-gal (high school girl) sitting on the other side of the train from me tried to get the attention of another young woman sitting one person down from me. Although the train had few riders, this in itself was unusual for Tokyo, as strangers rarely talk, interact, or even look at each other.

The kogal was trying to tell the other woman that there was a butterfly sitting on her shirt. When the woman realized what the deal was, she tried to shoo the insect away - but the butterfly was having none of it, and kept its grasp. The butterfly woman started to cringe and panic, so I stood up and motioned her to be still. I carefully grabbed the insect by its wings (it was clearly tired and trying to rest) and released it as the doors opened for a stop. It was just a small cabbage butterfly - utterly harmless and probably close to dying.

Well, I returned to my seat, nodding my head to the woman as she thanked me - assuming the ordeal was over. For whatever reason, the door stayed open as we stopped for perhaps a minute. The poor butterfly lazily fluttered around outside the train for a bit, then surprisingly flew back inside. I watched as the two women looked on horrifyingly at the butterfly desperately trying to find something to land on that was solid and unmoving. It finally settled on the raised underside of a man's shoe sitting between me and the first butterfly victim. He was asleep, so I thought that was the end of it. He was thin, in his early 20s, dressed in an inexpensive suit and shoes with elevated heels. So the butterfly had space under the arch of the shoe. 

Then both women started talking to the guy and he eventually woke up - a bit confused. When he saw what they were pointing to, he groggily tried to shake the poor insect off with increasing vigorousness. Then he started to panic a bit and looked worried as the train left the station, while he struggled to get the butterfly to release its grip. At this point, I had had enough. I couldn't watch this pussiness any further. I shook my head and walked to stand next to a door further down; my stop was coming up anyway.

The dude kept shaking his foot to the horrified commentary of the two women until finally the train conductor came out of his compartment (we were on the last car of the train) and plucked the poor butterfly off the shoe with his gloved hand. I think he released it out the window, but I was too disgusted to watch anymore.

I mean, GEEZUS, what the F is wrong with this young man? I guess I could understand if he was a little girl with insect phobia (like my wife) - but this was a guy, you know a dude or male of the human species. I guess he didn't inherit any balls from his father. A REAL man would have just picked it off with his bare hands and let it go out the window - or even smack it against the seat frame and kill it. And it's not like it was something icky like a cockroach or dangerous. This guy chose to show what a complete helpless ninny he was.

Pathetic. 

I'd like to think this is an isolated instance of spinelessness, but my experiences here suggest otherwise. 

Sometime I'll tell you how a little moth fluttering around a dining room in Okinawa turned 5 Japanese science graduate students and their professor into a pack of screaming idiots.

WWDC SteveNote Redux

OK, it's been a week since we got to hear about new Apple goodies from Pastor Steve. I'll give my analysis, FWIW.

First, this was a gawd awful boring presentation for the first 75%. Nobody wanted to hear about all the new iPhone partner yadda yadda. Kudos to Engadget for not trying to candy-coat everyone's displeasure during their live coverage.

Second, iPhone/iTouch games. Yeah it's nice that we get some games on the iPhone/iTouch. But frankly the games announced don't give me a woody and it's like 9 months too late. I would bet most touch users would be thrilled with a version of solitaire or minesweeper - or crossword puzzles - something simple and addictive. Unfortunately, the games being touted (e.g., Cro-Mag Rally, Enigmo) aren't high on my list and the fact that they might take advantage of some special iPhone/iTouch features isn't that impressive to me. As I said, the games are late in coming. We should be past this point already. Developers had to drag Apple kicking and screaming to release an SDK, and now we are paying for Apple's sonambulism.

Third, other iPhone apps. Most of the apps being touted are also not very thrilling. I mean - eBay? Who would track this stuff on their iPhone/iTouch? TypePad? Hello? Has anyone actually typed a sentence on their iPhone/iTouch and felt it was a quick and easy experience? Not happening.

How about Loopt - a social service that lets you track your friends and be tracked? I just can't see anyone other than a 16 year old teeny bopper really finding this a useful, fun app. Maybe it's just me, but I DON'T WANT my friends to know where I am 99% of the time.

MLB.com's video baseball highlight app - what?! How about actual LIVE video coverage? You can't be serious that anyone would get off on watching a highlight pseudo-real-time or otherwise, given that there are often only 2 or 3 highlights per ball game. (And yes, I love baseball.)

Even the AP app sounds lame - turn everyone into an amateur video reporter. Yuck! You'll get Sally's intimate video of her gross friend Zoey hawking a loogy on an expensive sports car parked at the 7-11. **sigh**

Fourth, OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard... no PowerPC support, no new features for users... **yawn**

Fifth, iPhone OS2.0 comes in July. Yay. Free for iPhone, but gonna cost iTouch users $9 - WTF! They should give this to touch users for FREE for having to put up with substandard features and lack of functions from the iPhone that they had to pay for already.

Sixth, Mobile Me replaces .Mac.... hurray?? Kudos for doing something to improve .Mac but the Me name is limp, and the logo is even worse. Given that I can't even get some basic .Mac features to even work, such as Back to My Mac - I'm skeptical Apple can do it right the second time around. Push mail thing might be OK, but with only 20GB of on-line storage I can't see it as a real home base for all your files. Having the functions in the basic form of web apps that act just like your desktop apps - hmmm. Do we really need this? Unsure at this point. Do you think that Windoze users will actually sign up for this? Nope - not happening.

And finally - the iPhone 3G! The phone Apple should have released in the first place comes July 11th in like 22 countries simultaneously, then many, many others. And yes, it's even coming to Japan on that date! Unfortunately, you could hear the collective groans of all of us in Japan when it was confirmed that SoftBank would be the sole carrier here. My colleague's spouse was so upset he declared he was actually angry that Apple didn't partner with a more reliable or established carrier. My guess is that Docomo wouldn't kowtow to Apple's model or demands and that SoftBank, the most desperate to improve their market share was more flexible. I guess nobody bothered to tell Apple that SoftBank is like the third owner of the company in 6 years, and that their infrastructure is still behind AU and Docomo.

Jobs claimed that the iPhone 3G price will be capped at $199 for 8Gb and $299 for 16Gb with a 2 year contract. But it's not clear if this is US-only, and I'd bet that in Japan it will sell for ¥30,000-50,000 if SoftBank has its way. And you can be sure that we will get gouged heavily for 'packet charges' for using internet features over the 3G network. The SoftBank people I spoke with had no idea on costs or anything else. I'm wondering if this is still under negotiation. It's also unclear whether a Japan iPhone will work transparently in other countries with iPhone service with roaming charges. This would be key for me, as would the possibility of changing contracts if I move to another country.

Functionality and features of the iPhone 3G are fairly impressive, if Apple's numbers are accurate - particularly for battery life. The 2 megapixel camera is not thrilling, but GPS sounds sweet (though I bet it won't work in English here). There is some concern over whether the iPhone will succeed in Japan, given its consumer's idiosyncracies and the better overall choice of phones and feature sets here compared to the US. One-Seg TV tuners are somewhat popular right now, but perhaps the better content available on the iPhone via iTunes or personal library will win folks over.

The burning question for me is will I purchase one? I'm not really moved to do so, but will definitely see what pricing plans are available. My guess is that most of us here in Japan feel the same way.

Nifty Little Mac Apps

So much for my MBA review... maybe I'll have time on my upcoming break. 

Recently, I'm impressed with the spate of small, useful apps out there for the Mac. I'll share a few of my favorites, and some new ones for you to try.

Twitter is an interesting webapp, which I've begrudgingly started to use. Unfortunately, it's no fun powering up the browser or opening up an new browser window to access your account. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can use the web app Hahlo from Dean J. Robinson.

There are some Mac Twitter clients that have been out there for a while, such as Twitterrific ($15) and TwitterPod (free). I encountered two new clients while browsing new apps at iUseThis that look very promising. The first is twhirl, a small client that uses Adobe Air tech. This app is currently in v. 0.8.1, so it is still being developed. It's free, cross platform, and I really dig the setting to adjust the opacity of the window when the app isn't active. The color of the twhirl window is not so great for some, however.

The other new client is NatsuLion, which means "Summer Lion" and is from "akira" - a Japanese developer. NatsuLion windows look more like an OSX app, and you can change the color of the text/background. I didn't install NatsuLion, but apparently some people think it's quite good.

Screen capturing seems to be the rage, and even TUAW bothered to review several screen capture apps recently. When reading that review, I was bothered that they didn't include ScreenSteps, which uses screenshots to help you build step by step instructions. But one surprise I saw was the app Skitch, which previously looked like eye candy nonsense when I first encountered it. Skitch allows users to take screenshots or webcam shots, and immediately upload them to an online storage site. From there you can share these via easy to copy urls, so you can upload them into blogs, flicker, etc. You can even determine the level of sharing for each image (private, secret, public). You can take timed shots, and the crosshairs that Skitch uses to select what you want to shoot are balls. Skitch has some very catchy annotation tools (text, arrow, shapes), and is fairly simple to use. I like the convenient menu bar access to pop up the Skitch window. Image resizing isn't clear to me, nor how to dump the current contents without losing them. My original dislike for this app is the color scheme of the logo - too pink, and too gay. However, with this functionality, I can over look it. Skitch is free for now (in beta stage) and you need to sign up an account with them.

A similar app to Skitch that wasn't in the TUAW review is GrabUp. GrabUp installs as a pref panel and remains active in your menubar. GrabUp intercepts the usual OSX screen grab command (shift+apple+4) and sends the output to an online database. You can access the location of your image via the GrabUp menubar icon, or you can just do a paste command (GrabUp automatically puts the image url into your clipboard). This is very handy for quick and dirty screen caps when writing blogs or uploading images on screen to some photo site. Interestingly, you don't sign up with any particular account to use GrabUp, so I'm guessing that there is a common online database that stores these images. So, it seems you won't be able to access your GrabUp images from another computer via the app, and I have to wonder how long they will store your images on line. GrabUp is a compromise compared to Skitch, because it allows very, very quick screen grabs, but you sacrifice global access to your images. Grab up is FREE, though, and Skitch will move to paid status eventually. Hmm...

The third app I want to talk about is another one in beta, Evernote. Evernote is a 'by invitation only' beta (I have 20 invitations left if anyone wants them). Actually, you can download the app for free, but the internet account requires an invitation. Evernote is crossplatform (Win/Mac) and I would describe Evernote as a hybrid notebook and image collector. You can use iSight to photograph something, or just drag and drop images, clip a screenshot, clip a screenshot of a webpage. Evernote will upload those with any text you add to the image to your online Evernote account. It keeps each entry you upload, and allows easy syncing between multiple machines. Apparently, any uploaded image will be scanned for text and the OCR will make those terms searchable in your entry. I tried it with the TUAW article mentioned above, and it worked great. I could search for any word and it would be highlighted. You can also tag each entry, and use several notebooks. I was a bit bothered I could not shrink the size of images in the Evernote notebook window. This seems to limit its use for note taking if the captured images overwhelm the text. Syncing between two different machines seems to work perfectly, and I have to say that this app has a lot of possibilities. You can also upload (and view) content from your mobile phone - making this a very useful service, even when you aren't at your computer.

Well, give these apps a try, and see what you think. Each of them is very nice, and will undoubtedly be improved in the near future.

Hiatus, MWSF, and MBA

Wow! ひさしぶりです！ It's been a LONG time since MWSF and I've not posted jack. 

I just want to quickly run down what I thought of the new Apple stuff at MWSF (OK, it was almost 3 months ago), and why I bought an MBA right away.

- AppleTV Redux: Apple was desperate to boost its flagging sales and give some functionality that users actually need or want. The new software is supposedly a major improvement. For me, I'm not that thrilled. I just am not sure I need a way to move my Mac content to my TV. But then again, we don't have a very large set or watch much more than news, sports, kids shows, and the occasional Japanese drama.

- Time Capsule: As a hard drive, it's rather expensive. But you could justify the extra cost because it serves as a full fledged WiFi-n base station. There is a USB port for printer or another hard drive, as well as 3 Gigabit Ethernet ports. The problem I see is that if you purchase Time Capsule, it's an all in one solution. You are stuck with this hard drive, no matter what. Furthermore, Apple is billing this as the only wireless Time Machine solution. 

Although a recent Airport firmware update finally enabled the ability to use hard drives plugged into your base station with Time Machine - Apple is stating that this feature is unsupported. Perhaps they are doing this to boost Time Capsule sales, which may not be doing very well. I notice on the Apple Store's Time Capsule page, several very poor ratings. This doesn't bode well.

- Google Maps, Mail, and more for iPod Touch: This should have been free. I paid for it, because I needed the Mail app alot, and didn't want to hack my Touch. Shame on Apple for not providing this for free, regardless of the accounting BS allowing them to do so.

- MacBook Air: I saved the best for last. F-f-f-f-finally! Apple makes a lightweight laptop! I will still maintain that they didn't need to add all the bells and whistles to make a lightweight MacBook. However, when comparing it to lightweight Wintel laptops, some that came out in response to the Air, it comes out ahead on the best balance of features. And given many of us don't need a speed demon to take our show on the road, the MBA really suits the bill. I ordered mine the night they were announced, and received it in the second week of February. In my next post, I'll give a comprehensive review of the MBA, complete with unboxing photos.

OK, there were a few other things at MWSF too - like vid rentals. And I'd have to say my prognosticating was pretty good this time around, if you check out my previous post.

SteveNote Game

This is pretty cool.

Jan-07 MacWorld Predictions

I think:

Small MacBook - at a hefty 5+lbs, the current MacBooks are not really portable. Whether Apple overdoes it with a functionally crippled ultralight MacBook or just a thinner, small screen version of the current line - I'm not sure.

Regardless, either would be a welcome move by MacKenchi's standards. (Less than this is not acceptable for us folks in Japan!)

Speed Bump MacBooks - could be the whole current line up, and maybe upgrade the screens of the 17" Pro to backlit.

Monitor Refresh - new versions of the current crop with built in iSight and more ports (USB/FW).

16GB GSM iPhone - no 3G yet.

MacTV 2.0 - BluRay whatever.... Yawn

iPhone/Touch SDK Kit - Announced, but not shipping until at least Feb.

iPhone/Touch firmware 1.1.3 - Watch out modders!

iPhone/Touch Games - Way late, but hey.

iTunes ≥v.7.6 - Vid rental, whatever.

OSX 10.5.2 - Make things like Back to your Mac and Spaces actually useful.

Mac Mini - no change in configuration, but decreased price.

Some of the product upgrades won't be announced at the Keynote, but be discovered as new products on the Apple Store - like before.

FWIW...

New Hip in Japan

Since my return to Japan on Nov 15th, it was clear that my life was going to be different, and improved.

- My daughter was more active and mobile, pushing me to push myself to keep up with her.

- I was relatively pain free (hip-wise) in my daily activities, and felt more motivated to get out and do something.

- The crutches were quickly becoming an afterthought. In fact, I gave them up at home after a week altogether, used a cane for about two weeks and since Xmas have been cane-less.

- I wasn't struggling to stand up from couch, chair, or even the floor.

- I was gaining muscle mass (and unfortunately flab), because of increased swimming and stationary biking (and unfortunately appetite).

The biggest early drawback was trying to limit myself from doing something too much too soon.

- My daughter is right on the borderline of what your are supposed to lift (20lbs).

- I found myself at times nearly running to catch trains (I should wait until April for that).

- Carrying a backpack with laptop was harder on my back than my hip.

Unfortunately, I became quite ill for 8 days from 28 November through 6 December. I had some sort of GI virus (not a flu virus) that literally kept me in bed or on the toilet for 6 straight days. The Japanese GI specialist I saw felt that my recent operation may have left my immune system a bit weaker. I ended up taking antibiotics, and some 'good bacteria' powder (biofirm) like the stuff they put in yogurt to help your gut recolonize the beneficial E. coli. I've come to realize that antibiotics (whose frequent use I oppose) may be a reality in my future because of my implant. I have to get antibiotics whenever I get dental work done or other invasive medical work.

The upshot of my stomach 'cold', as the doctor put it, was that it set my recovery back a week or more - as I couldn't do my stretching exercises, swim or bike. And I think I regressed a bit in flexibility. Worse, I had just located an American PT specialist on base, and the illness postponed my PT plans into the holidays - when I wasn't able to sign up. At this writing I still haven't set up a PT session and will have to get a new prescription to do so. My job and lab responsibilities have also increased, giving me less available free time, other than for exercises.

At present, I feel I'm close to being where I should be - my leg strength improves daily - but I'm still frustrated by my flexibility. Worse, I'm starting to feel stiffness and some soreness after sitting for long periods in a variety of chairs - finding that I limp more than I thought I did previously. I'm unsure if this is a result of poor posture, bad furniture, or just the recovery of feeling in my operated hip. It makes me want to sit less, but it also makes me question my progress and lack of initiative on signing up for PT.

So, I still have no regrets for having my hip replaced - the pain relief alone is amazing. I'm only disappointed a bit in my perceived lack of progress in rehab. Yet, I still had a mobile holiday that I could only have dreamed of a year ago.

Ganbaremasu!

N-Y-C-U Later

Sadly, I've not posted here for the last month - but that's because I've been busy and distracted. I'll catch you up.

NWA - Service? No way!

I returned to NYC on 13 November, checked into my hotel, and took a cab to HSS for my appointment with Dr. Su. The NWA flight was OK - better getting folks off and on. But the flight attendant refused to help me with my bag (lifting or finding a place for it). This really pissed me off, especially when she told me I should have checked it in. Yeah - right - check in my laptop. What happened to airline service?? NWA should be ashamed of their lack of service for disabled people.

I was fortunate to have 2 good cabbies both from Laguardia airport and my hotel. And my hotel had a surprise in the form of a first floor room, actually cheaper than the one I originally reserved, so I could crutch around more easily.

Last dance with the Doc

I was able to get to HSS around 10am - quite a bit earlier than I expected. The cabbie that took me there even knew the hospital from the address. (That, my friends, is a rarity in NYC.) My doctor's office was not expecting me until later, but I was able to get in anyway. Unfortunately, Dr. Su was not available so I was checked by his PA, Blair, a nice woman that was around for all my previous visits. Blair found no complications and was satisfied with my recovery. I was using only one crutch the whole time, and even showed her I could ambulate easily with no crutch. She showed me a new series of exercises/stretches for 1month+ postop folks. I was a bit disappointed that they were quite difficult - much harder than the ones I was doing for PT. One involves lifting both knees to your chest, and lowering the operated leg flat for a stretch. Another has you sitting, and slowly lifting/pulling your operated leg up and across your good leg with the eventual goal being able to sit cross-legged.

The other thing I learned was how to inject myself with Lovenox. Dr. Su gave me a prescription for this earlier, but I didn't need to fill it until I had a long flight. Lovenox is another blood thinner, and I picked up the self injectors from the pharmacy before I came to the office on this visit. I was unsure how to inject these (but not squeamish), and surprisingly the pharmacist didn't give detailed instructions. Blair had a nurse in the office pool show me the procedure - which involves pinching a fold of your belly skin and injecting subcutaneously. I have a nice layer of insulation, so no problem. The only other issue was the timing of injecting. The prescription said before the flight, but it was unlikely that I could take them past the security check. So, we concluded I should inject one late at night and the other before I left the hotel.

For parting gifts, I got a plastic card with an explanation (and illustration) of my implant, plus a PT prescription. I've been told the card won't really help at airports with security, but it's definitely a conversation piece so far at parties.

Walking Too Much

After goodbyes, I decided to treat myself to some good java at a coffee shop near HSS (forgot the name) that I enjoyed previously. Although I was a bit reluctant not to leave without seeing Dr. Su, I was getting very antsy and decided I would enjoy the rest of my day the best I could. After coffee, I started walking south, hoping to catch some Manhattan sites and maybe an electronics store in a couple blocks before taking a cab to the hotel. Well, I couldn't find what I wanted and ended up walking forever - like 15 blocks. One of the hardest things for me at that time was realizing that I had limits, and that I shouldn't push it. At one point, even walking on one crutch was decidedly painful on my left arm and other parts of my body were also sore. I also felt a bit cold. So, I found a place to eat where I could sit down relatively undisturbed (another rarity in NYC) and after an excellent deli meal I was invigorated. I found that I was actually close to the Apple store, and walked a couple more blocks - then treated myself to a case for my iPod Touch. I caught a cab back to the hotel, where I promptly fell asleep for 2.5 hours.

Although my Manhattan hike was overly ambitious, around 5pm I went out and walked again several blocks. I was starving for dinner, and worried about getting gifts for folks back home (a Japanese tradition that adds another headache for travelers). I found a great video game store, where I was able to pick up a new Wii game for a friend of mine, then after walking way too far, settled on getting organic chocolates from a Whole Foods market near NYU. I also bought my dinner there - way too much food. I was struck by how difficult it was to navigate around the store with one crutch on a crowded evening. It was really annoying, frustrating, and embarrassing. Yes, I had had enough of NYC. And I slept really well that night with the thought that I would be leaving soon.

Manhattan Transfer

I used a private car service (Dial 7) to get to JFK airport the next day. I highly recommend it to anyone that is leery of using cabs or has mobility issues. You have to make a reservation in advance (a day or more is best), and they actually call you when they arrive. And they arrive on time, and get you there on time. Injecting myself was no big deal, just a bit uncomfortable. Even if I didn't get all of the second injection in, I knew it would be OK. The Lovenox was a precaution, and given that I was mobile enough, the risk of blood clots was pretty low. I only wondered what the hotel cleaning folks thought when they saw the empty syringes in the wastebasket.

At JFK, I used curb-side check-in again. I was a bit upset there wasn't a wheel chair ready for me, but I was early enough that it wasn't a big deal. Doing the security check from a wheel chair really saved a lot of wear and tear on my hip (and crutch arms), plus gets you through quickly. Although my mother capriciously used this to avoid getting lost in airports (she is still quite ambulatory), if you are on crutches from something like hip replacement - take advantage of it. The wheel-chair attendant was great: very helpful and quick. The security check was more involved than that at Laguardia or Detroit airports, but the security folks did their jobs well, and relatively efficiently. My implant didn't seem to set any detectors off that I could tell, but I wasn't asked to walk through the detector - just patted down.

Getting on the plane was easy, and the staff kindly switched me to an open window seat row with lots of foot room. The American Airlines crew was mostly American, but they were very helpful - offering to get my crutches whenever I needed them, because they couldn't be stored near my seat. Like the way over, this was a 12-13 hour non-stop flight, and despite having 3 seats I was never really comfortable and couldn't sleep well. The inflight movie selections were impressive and repeated (several movies, several channels), but I still felt restless. My hobby was going to the bathroom, which I seemed to have to do a lot. Despite the empty seats in our plane, there was rarely a time I could get an open bathroom when I needed it. Plus, other passengers weren't thrilled to see my crutch. Aisle space was quite narrow, and although I tried to be careful - I put the crutch on someone's foot a couple times. Oh well.

Arrival in Japan was great, as the airline folks really went out of their way to help me get out of the plane quickly, to an express desk for immigration (actually the office itself) and customs. One guy did it all, even pulling my bags along. And I didn't even have to tip him - it's not a custom in Japan. :-)

But the best part of arrival at Narita airport was the reunion with my nearly 1 year-old daughter. I hadn't seen her for a month and was afraid she had forgotten me. It was a little awkward at first, and she was afraid of me. But she warmed up in a few hours. And I was very thankful that I could actually make it back for her first birthday.

Midwestern Crawl

More Progress
I had a quick check up at Dr. Su's office on 1 November - nearly 2 weeks postop. The Xray was good, I was told to walk with one crutch while indoors. I used one crutch for the first time right there in the examination room. I was surprised how easy it was. The doc also cleared me to fly out to Detroit for 7 days minimum, and even indicated I could fly back to Japan after that.
I did my last PT at the Joint Mobility Center the next morning before I left for Detroit, and really surprised my therapist with my progress. She didn't see me the day prior, and didn't think I was able to walk on one crutch. My session was a bit rushed, because of the flight time in the afternoon - but everything went well. I got a big smile and a Tshirt from the staff.

Escape from NY
I flew out of Laguardia airport, and had wheel chair service get me to the plane. This was a good idea, as I got through security more quickly and didn't have to stand for long periods in line. I wasn't able to walk through the detector at all with out a crutch, so they frisked me. The TCA guard that did the frisking was very nice, and not pushy at all. I don't think the scanner picked up my implant - but it wasn't a big deal. The worst part was after they delivered me to the gate - no help after that - mostly because I was there an hour in advance. The flight was delayed an hour, and when they let handicaps and 1st class people in - I couldn't get to the front of the line. The gate attendant told me I should have shoved people out of the way. This wasn't really easy with two crutches under one arm and pulling my wheelie carryon with the other.

This was a NWA flight on a 757. They helped me get to my seat, but there wasn't any real space in front of it. When I explained I was supposed to get a bulkhead seat - they claimed this was it. It was a row behind first class and seemed to have a bit more legroom. The worst part of boarding the plane was it took 45 minutes to complete it! This was made worse by the attendants making people stow their carryons in places other than above their seats. In Japan, a plane this size gets boarded in 15 minutes or so. Maybe NYers are slow, but I have a feeling it was the attendents' fault. Unbelievable.

At Detroit airport, the wheelchair service was great, but they had one guy take two of us at the same time. We had to use several elevators, and a train (12 minutes or so) to get to baggage claim. I was surprised that there were no tag checkers of bags in Detroit - but I got my bags. My mother, uncle and aunt were there to meet me - so it was easy after that. Perhaps the strangest thing at that point was traveling in a passenger car not driven by a cabbie.

Slow Life with Benefits
I stayed with my sister in Temperance, Michigan since then with a couple of trips to my home town in NW Ohio, and my brother's place in Cleveland. Both drives were 1-2 hours, but I had no problems. The embolism socks were used, but I feel they aren't necessary. My sister got hold of a stationary bike from a friend, so I was able to use that as part of my PT. It was a normal crank size, and I had no pain at all! Again, a marked point of progress. I've been doing 10-15 minutes biking each day and all my PT stretches using the bench on my sister's wooden deck. This was pretty good, and the weather usually was unseasonably warm. Over the course of the last 10 days, my bridging and all leg lifts have become extraordinarily easy. I even found I could lift my operated leg while lying on my back - and can now raise it 30° up to 11 times in sequence. I could barely lift it at all in NY. I also found that I was rolling over on both sides in the bed with little or no pain, and even slept on my operated side without realizing it. The most stunning change was standing up and walking without the crutch. This began maybe 4 days ago, and I don't do it on purpose. I usually catch myself and get the crutch right away. There isn't any pain at all, so I'm very pleased. I'll be a good boy and use the crutch for the whole 6 weeks post op, like the doctor says.

My right hip seems to be improving visually as well. The bruising is gone, and the incision is fairly clean. I measured it the other day and it seems to be about 8 inches long. This doesn't bother me a bit, though others might not like it. I can feel some of the stitching - they feel like 1 pound test monofilament fishing line. Although they are supposed to disintegrate and dissolve - it seems they are still there. I caught one knotted end on my pants and it yanked out. Ouch! It also itches at times - but it could be worse I suppose.

The only thing I really wish I could change is the diet here. It's too meaty and all available drinks (except water) are sweetened. I bet I've gained a couple pounds here. I also found myself being more sedentary than I liked, except for a long trip to the shopping mall where I walked quite a bit. I thought perhaps this was related to the vicodan - making me drowsy or lazy. However, this isn't likely; I stopped taking it so frequently, down to 3-4 times a day instead of 8.

Back into the Fray
I'd hoped to do a little traveling before returning to NYC, and even toyed with the idea of visiting my friend in upstate New York. But I became a bit apathetic, and also realized I could only go via a one stop flight. This, and the concern I would be imposing on others made me realize I should just stay at my sisters and return to NYC the day before I wanted to return to Japan.

Before I left NYC, I made tentative arrangements to come back to see the Doc one day before flying back to Japan. To accommodate the MD's schedule we scheduled an appointment for 13 November. My week of lethargy in Michigan pretty much made it clear to me that I needed to get back home to my family. Making the flight arrangements back to Japan was a piece of cake, and after waiting for my sister's schedule to gel - I was able to get the the first flight out of Detroit to NYC tomorrow morning. I have to say I'm a bit pensive. I'm eager to get out of here, but not real thrilled to go through another day in NYC.

Hopefully, there will be no complications in my checkup, and I'll be on my way on Wednesday. :-)

It's the little things...

All this fanfare about Apple's new Leopard OS (10.5) has not moved me one iota. I suppose with all the time on my hands I could wrestle with installation on my ancient G4 PB, but I'd rather spend my time writing about other stuff.

Signs of Progress
My last couple of day have been interesting, as I find myself doing things (or trying to do them) that I haven't been able to. I sat up in bed two days ago, without realizing it was the first time without help. I stand on my two feet without a crutch or pushing up with my arms. I turn over on one side in bed, sometimes stopped by pain. I bend over to scratch my lower legs. I've even caught myself trying to take steps without crutches. Although I'm unconsciously pushing my limits, I sort of know I'm not there yet. I've found myself trying things first, then later asking my mother for help if I've failed. But putting on shoes is completely beyond me at this point.

On my own two feet
My reliance upon my mother for things hasn't bothered me much, and she's been good about letting me give things a go first before helping out. We took a nice walk out to the East river yesterday, and I was surprised at my endurance. I took a short video for my daughter, and was pleasantly surprised that I look pretty good.

Unfortunately, I won't have the luxury of her further presence here in NYC. I'm on my own! My grandfather passed away this morning, and mom had to fly back to Ohio to take care of my grandmother and other matters. He was very old, bed-ridden, and not very lucid. But he's in a nursing home and the impression was that he was stable. So my mother felt it would be OK to be here with me, despite complaints from my grandmother that her own needs were ignored. Now I know my mom is dealing with unwarranted guilt issues.

So, I'll continue here in NYC and hope I'm can progress to the point where I can be cleared to leave and attend a funeral. I'm not so close to my grandparents, so the death isn't affecting me as much. I need to focus on my recovery at this point, and if they need me I'll see if I can fly out.

I decided to show myself I can survive, so I somehow got my socks on (woohoo!) and slipped into my open back sandals to get some fresh air. I lumbered about 3 blocks to a deli, got some fruit salad and broccoli chicken, and returned to the Belaire. Folks were very nice about opening doors for me, and I didn't have any major problems. This was a big confidence builder.

OK, leftovers tonight, and PT tomorrow. One step at a time.

Post Op Shop II

Since my last post, things have progressed quite a bit. I remained in the hospital room until yesterday (24 October) noon. This was one day longer than I expected, but mostly due to tiredness.

Crutchety Old Man
On 23 October, the PT person got me out of bed and on crutches for the first time. Crutch use isn't as difficult as you might think, but it takes lots of arm strength - more than I expected. Crutch use mimics the walker - move both crutches forward, then bad leg, and good leg. Though tough at first, I was able to go all the way down the hall to the PT room (~20 meters). Once there, I rested a bit and was then tempted with a short set of stairs (5 steps). I decided to give it a go and was able to go up and down with effort. Up with the good leg, down with the bad leg - that's the mantra for doing stairs. You use only one crutch, and one rail - lots of arm strength again. After stairs, I crutched back down the hall to my room.

Holy Crap
I was able to repeat the crutch feat later in the afternoon - around 2:40pm. But before that I had an ordeal the likes I had never expected when I had to have my first bowel movement. Often after surgery, you are dehydrated and the cocktail of drugs they give you leaves you constipated. When mother nature paid a visit to me, I had to wait 15 minutes before a nurse could help me to the commode. Then when I got there, the urge to go was great - but so was the pain. I had to make a lot of effort, then was scolded by the floor nurse in the middle of it. They were worried I would pass out. Well, after assuring them I would just 'let it happen', I was able to finish. The pain was excruciating, and I was exhausted. And it was embarrassing to have a nurse tech clean me up after. Aaagh! Perhaps this was worse than catheter removal.

Night to Forget
I had hoped to be discharged on the evening of the 23rd, but the constipation episode wore me out. I felt I could use the extra rest and attention. Unfortunately, the nursing staff was not particularly cooperative or quiet that night. I couldn't get pain pills when I wanted, and they bothered me when I was trying to sleep or nap on several locations. Perhaps this was a sign that they wanted me gone. :-) But more likely that they had a very busy night shift.

Discharge
There was no doubt in my mind I needed to leave when I woke up on the 24th. I was tired of asking nurses to do everything (and impatient), and weary of my surroundings (except the great river view). My mother had already checked into the Belaire (hospital's hotel) and it sounded nice. Perhaps the thing that propelled me most was what I saw in the mirror when I got to the bathroom. After 5 days I desperately needed a shave, and my skin was very red around my beard where my eczema (dermatitis) often flares up.

The PT people came around again to confirm my first outpatient appointment, and even arranged for a sales person to come by with a 'reacher' - a device that helps you grab or pick up objects beyond your range of movement. I had one more PT session at 11am to practice crutches and stairs, then signed the paperwork for discharge. I had to agree to only take the prescribed medications (vicodan and enteric aspirin), and a number of other physician mandated restrictions. Then at noon, I said goodbye to my urine bottle and room, while a nice, tall blonde Russian girl wheeled me to the Belaire.

Reality Bites
Once in our 6 floor 1 bedroom apartment, it became clear that home life was not going to be a piece of cake. This realization came crashing down on me soon after I had entered the room. Although this hotel is run by HSS for families of patients needing extended care, it seems to lack things required by disabled or recovering patients like myself. No elevated toilet seat or chairs, low sofas, and a too soft bed. I can't really complain, as this will get paid for by someone else eventually. But you would think they'd pay more attention to needs of the disabled.

I also found that things are quite different when you aren't flat on your back in a hospital bed. You have to walk to the bathroom, stand while washing, move several meters to bed, chair, couch, etc. on crutches. If you change clothes (or pull up your pants), you have to use the reacher (or get some help). Fortunately, my mother helped me with many things, including going out to get meals, cleaning clothes, pushing chairs, picking up dropped items, reaching hard to reach places, lifting my operated leg, etc. Hell, I can't even get to the phones from the couch or bed in a few seconds.

Wow. If I was alone somewhere, I'd never make it after release from the hospital. Now I understand why hospitals in Japan keep you in a rehab facility for nearly a month for full hip replacement.

Post Op Shop

On the Other Side
My surgery was at about 10:30 AM on Friday (19 Oct), and I woke up after about 1pm. It was a little weird getting my sensations back bit by bit, and I didn't relish the lack of control. However, in a few hours I had all my major senses and not much feeling below the waist.

They kept me in the post op recovery room for 27 hours, because of lack of bed space in the hospital. Everybody wants their recovery on the weekends, maybe. But the nurses in the recovery room were very nice and helpful - pulling me through some confusing times. I was fortunate, in that I had little or no post operative pain. When the PT got me up for walking, I had some pain but was able to take a couple steps with a walker.

Wired
I was struck by how many tubes and wires were attached to my body, to either monitor body functions or deliver some important substance to my body. I had a saline IV in my hand, an antibiotic IV (wrist?), a PCA epidural in my back, sedative drip in my jugular vein (neck), 3 EKG electrodes on my left lower rib cage, a catheter up my schlong, oxygen tubes up my nose (photo), a bag to collect fluids from my surgical incision, and two pressure cuffs on my lower legs to encourage circulation (minimize chance of clots). Maybe I've forgotten something? The only thing left now is the cuffs, which pleasantly squeeze at intermittent times with a 'puff' sound. These cuffs actually brought the first sensations to my lower legs - making my toes tingle, then feet, then ankles, calves etc. Removing most of these things was often painful - as they were taped to my fairly hairy body. Rip!!

Stoned
The cocktail of chemicals and pharmaceuticals in my body was also impressive. I had/have blood thinners, clot busters, pain killers, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, stool softeners, vitamins... I've probably omitted something. The PCA epidural is a machine that delivers pain blockers to space between vertebra in my lumbar region. So, sensation from pain receptors at or below the level of the epidural were minimized. PCA refers to 'patient controlled anaesthesia'; I had a device with a button that I could press to deliver a pulse of meds to the epidural. While in post op, the machine delivered meds at a slow rate, so any pressing I did just upped the dosage temporarily. When I moved to my room, the auto drip was off, so I had to pump to get the drip. At that time, however, they also started giving me Vicodan and eventually weaned me from the pump altogether. I now take Vicodan every 4-6 hours (when I ask) and think I've cut it to one pill instead of 2. However, PT may push my dosage up again.

Room with a View
They moved me to a room at 4pm yesterday. I shared it for one night with an amazing 66 y.o. guy that had two THR (one a revision of a BHR), and was in such great shape he was ambulatory after 3 days. The room is on a remodeled floor (8th), and very spacious. I count eight window panes over looking the East River. Both beds face the river; I have a great view of the lights at night and the sunrise in the morning (below). Some aspects of the layout and equipment are not optimal, but these things could be worked out with little effort. Every morning with breakfast, they bring you a flower that you can stick in a little vase - gives you a sense of how many days you've been in the clink. Rooms are provided with free wireless internet of dubious quality, and you have to pay $8 a day to use the TV. After my roomie left this morning, I've had the room to myself - so I could really enjoy TV at normal volume levels.

I was switched from liquid to solid foods Saturday evening. Speaking of food - the quality is OK (and quantity), but the service is erratic. I remember writing down preferences before surgery (low lactose) - but apparently these have been forgotten. We are given menus with choices to circle. Unfortunately, some mental midgets on the serving staff are unable to remember to give me what I asked for, despite having highlighted my selections and attached it to the meal tray.

Physically Challenged
Today was day three - and my first full day in the hospital room. In the morning PT session, I had some light-headedness, so I didn't walk any. I felt embarrassed and frustrated - and also worried. I think my Vicodan wore off, as the pain was prominent. Or it may have been related to the fact that I didn't sleep well after they removed the catheter on Saturday evening. The sensation was annoying, and I couldn't figure out if things were moving or staying. The threat of replacing the catheter if I couldn't void put a lot of pressure on me to go before midnight. It was like learning how to pee again, but with lots of irritation. And my best friend is a plastic bottle between my legs that I fill up religiously. Maybe this has been the toughest thing to deal with so far, but I'm happy to report that my plumbing is nearly normal at present time. :-)

After an hour's nap and lunch (with more omissions), I felt stronger. When the afternoon PT person came, I rather easily sat up on the bed, stood with the walker, and made it halfway across the room and back. I think the timing of my pain pill around lunch also helped. Later on, after my wife and mother arrived - I sat up on my own, and with some help got to sit up on an elevated chair so that I could watch some TV from that position. Well, that was my hope. But with both gals yakking and fussing, I didn't see much. That's an easy price to pay when someone that is willing to bring you a decent cappuccino and donuts.

They also have taken my bandage off, and I've seen my incision with the help of my digital camera. It's pretty ugly, and seems to be covered with some sort of papery material. I don't quite see stitches or staples, so I'm not sure what keeps it close.

The care here at HSS has been excellent for the most part. I'm a little disappointed with myself that I can't make more physical progress. It will come, but I wish I didn't have to push myself so much to get over the pain or be so reliant on pain meds. My MD told me to try sitting to motivate me to get up more. I think it helps. I really want to be up and about on my own. And with bowel issues coming in the next day or so - I have added motivation. If I have the time or energy, I'll give an update in the next few days.

Well, the lame ALCS game is nearly over, and like the Indians, I'm out of gas.

Hip to be spared...

This post is a bit nontech, but perhaps many people will be interested in what I am experiencing. I left Tokyo on 14 October for NYC, and will remain in NYC a few weeks. I'm getting my hip joint fixed.

I've always been physically active in my adult life, but had to stop nearly everything 2 years ago because my right hip was giving me problems. This meant the end of biking, running, hiking, basketball, raquetball, and my passion - ultimate frisbee. It was a hard pill to swallow, but the pain and the diagnosis by a Japanese doctor indicated the hip joint was failing. I was told to lose weight and bike or swim to keep in shape, and hope to delay joint replacement until my 50s (I was 41 at the time).

Well, in the two years that followed I couldn't do much exercise because of the excruciating pain. Biking was impossible. Swimming was OK, but the distance I had to walk to do it was often difficult. And with my job standing and lecturing, as well as use of trains for my commute - things deteriorated. Adding a few pounds didn't help either.

In May of this year, the pain was so bad I went to a nearby clinic to see an orthopedist, and he told me the joint was in its 'terminal' phase, and that my left one was not in good shape either. You can see the Xray at right, bad hip is on the left side of the photo.

I started looking for local solutions to my problem - in Japan. I went to a reputable orthopedic hospital in Shinjuku and was told they could do total hip replacement (THR), and use a ceramic joint fitting. Unfortunately, THR is very destructive, basically cutting off the entire top quarter of the femur. And THR's may only last 10-15 years, with revisions requiring more bone destruction. Usual candidates for THR are in their late 50s or 60s, but for someone my age I just couldn't see whacking off so much bone. Unfortunately, this is the only technique readily available and in common practice in Japan.

You can see a THR example below left. This image is from Dr. Edward Prince, M.D.

Fortunately, there are other alternatives to THR, namely a relatively new technique called 'joint resurfacing' that was tried (and failed) in the 1970's, then completely revamped
about 10 years ago. The original successful version of joint resurfacing is the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing System (or BHR) developed by Derek McMinn in Birmingham, England. BHR was in use in England from 1997, and was FDA approved for use in the US in May, 2006. There have been other similar systems developed (Cormet, e.g.), but BHR seems to be the most commonly used. The advantage of BHR is very clear for younger patients: less bone loss, more future options, higher potential levels of activity. You can see from the below right BHR photo (from Orthoworks, UK), that the implant size is considerably less - a femoral cap over or replacing the ball and a matching cup inserted into the pelvis. There are reports of many athletes having this surgery, including Floyd Landis, and they are able to continue their activities at similar or higher levels.

Of course, there are potential problems with BHR, and with only 10 years of supporting data - there are a lot of questions that remain unanswered. The first of these is longevity. We just don't know the lower or upper limits of lifespan of BHR implants. The other issue is the potential problems from metal on metal joints releasing ions into the bloodstream. BHR uses Chromium Cobalt, and there isn't enough long term info to determine its effect. Another risk involves stress on the femur neck. Therefore, the placement of the implant is critical. The angles must be carefully worked out so that stress doesn't exceed the bone's capacity. This also means that the patient needs to have good bone mass to support this implant, compared to THR.

Fortunately, I meet all the criteria for BHR and am at the young end of the spectrum (average age is 48 years). Unfortunately, I had to look outside of Japan. Yes, there were a few places offering BHR in Japan, but the replicates of BHR performed were very small by those surgeons. Given the importance of positioning the implant correctly, a surgeon's number of BHR surgeries (as well as successes) is critical. BHR is relatively common in Europe, with Dr. Smet in Belgium having the most experience. There are actually two or three UK trained surgeons in India performing BHR (Dr. Bose in Chennai the most senior of these), and the cost of doing that surgery is very low compared to the US. Medical tourism to India is very popular, as a result of such low costs.

Given that US surgeons have only had limited time for BHR, only a few have had much experience, including the trials leading to FDA acceptance. Since my insurance was willing to pay for nearly all expenses, I decided to look for surgeon in the US with experience. When I combined this with a comparison of the best hospitals for orthopedic surgery, I came up with one particular choice: Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City, and Dr. Edwin Su. HSS has the lowest infection rate in the country, as well as the highest ranking by US News and World Report. Dr. Su has nearly 400 BHR cases to his credit, and I liked the fact that he is publishing research papers on his surgical work. Plus, I was able to find and email him directly - and he answered me in short order. So, about 2 months ago I began making arrangements to come to NYC for my surgery. There have been many hurdles, but Dr. Su's office staff made many efforts to help me out. The hardest part for me has been separating from my 11 month old daughter and wife for a few weeks. But after meeting Dr. Su and the hospital staff, I know that I made the right choice. I'm in very good hands. These are quality people.

So, I go under the knife on Oct 19th, and will probably stay in NYC for at least 2 weeks after for rehab. I'll probably post more of my experience in the future. In the mean time, I will try to see some of NYC.

iPod Touch in Da House

Prologue
A couple days before my pre-ordered 16GB iPod touch was supposed to ship (28 September), Apple Japan sends me an email stating my iPod would now ship on 10-14 October, and arrive 15-19 October. This ticked me off, as I've already heard the Touch was in Apple stores here, and I will be going to the US for 4+ weeks on 14 October. Well, before I could call the English line for Apple Japan and rip them a new one, I got another email saying that the iPod had shipped and was on its way (29 September) and could be expected on the original ETA - 4 October. Whoa! Even got my くろねこ tracking number. I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived on 2 October - two days early! Woohoo!

Unboxing the Touch

The shipping box was plain old cardboard, with the packing slip taking up most of the surface. Nothing much to see here, move along. Cracking open the box shows the slick Apple packaging cradled in a tomb of cardboard.


Here is the compact box in shrink wrap. I often wonder if Apple should go back to it's more enviro-friendly plain cardboard packaging, as this seems quite wasteful. After clipping the shrink wrap and peeling it off, I get my first look at my new iPod. Note the generous soft foam padding in the box lid. The box is double-layered dense cardboard. The iPod itself is sitting on a black plastic tray (not shown) which supports it above the contents below. More waste.


The Touch was generously smothered in a layer of plastic film, front and back. In the back view you can see how the film flaps were overlapped. I also got personalized engraving (not sure why I did this now), but it's obscured by the flash. I remember how my 1st gen Nano got scratched easily after I took this off. I was a bit hesitant to remove it, to be honest.


All the instructions (all in Japanese) came in the thin black box (right, above) and there were only two pamphlets (above), with the requisite sheet of Apple stickers, and a small slip of paper with websites with contact info. One of the pamphlets was info on compliance and addresses in various countries for support. The other pamphlet was a small fold out pamphlet with slick color photos and text telling you the general features of the Touch, with very little info on how to use it, and of course the requisite URLs to download the latest iTunes, and the pdf user guide. This was a bit surprising - no full manual at all included. I think it's fine to minimize paper waste, but this slick fold-out is more promotional than practical. Maybe I wouldn't mind the pdf 'only' manual if I could actually refer to it on my iPod Touch whenever I need to.


At left you can see the thin white plastic pack that contains the Touch's accessories. Inside there is the USB cable, Apple earbuds, dock adapter, and a supposed stand.

-The USB cable is crappier than the one I got with my 1st gen Nano. The 30 pin iPod plug is half as tall as the one from my Nano and lacks the side buttons to release it from an iPod. No plastic plug covers either, but let's call that a positive enviro move.

-The dock adapter apparently works with Apple's docks (but not on my 3G iPod dock nor my old Altec-Lansing portable speakers).

-The Apple earbuds I didn't try - they are still in the shrinkwrap. I'm not bothering with those things anymore.

-The stand is a clear plastic thing that has a groove you for the Touch's edge. It's kind of like one of those plastic things used to keep photo frames standing upright. Although I suppose someone will say that its elegance is its simplicity, I would say that Apple could have done much better for the price we paid. The big problem with the stand is that you can't have the Touch plugged in to the USB cable unless it is sitting in landscape mode. Given that the menus and controls are all in portrait orientation, it's kind of stupid. I suppose this allows you to use the Touch as an digital photo frame or table/desktop movie player...

-Apple was kind enough to include a 'polishing' cloth. I think it was under the plastic tray, but I can't quite recall. This cloth is supposed to help you control the fingerprints and skin secretions that will make your shiny iPod touch look like a subway train window. Unfortunately, the grain on the cloth is too coarse to actually polish anything. I had to use a damp microfiber cloth instead (came with my PSP).

Using the Touch
I'd like to post in more detail at some point, but will try to be brief here. Without a physical manual to refer to, I've found myself just learning by doing. Yeah, I could read the PDF file on my Mac and fiddle with the Touch at the same time. Unfortunately, I mostly have time to fiddle with the Touch on the train or while I'm falling asleep in bed. So, I probably am missing some things.

Browsing photos and watching videos is a joy. The screen is awesome (no bad screen for me) and the quality of video play is at times stunning. I love being able to zoom up on photos and see the grain. Getting video content on the iPod was not difficult. I had some Frederator video podcasts sitting in my iTunes library, and there is plenty of free video podcast content out there. (National Geographic rocks!) To convert some of my digicam videos, I use the free iSquint. I prefer to save them as TV format (this app was designed for the dinky 5G iPods), and the quality is quite good. Better quality would mean less space on the Touch. Loading photos was not so easy. I wasn't able to use my Pictures folder and choose folders within it to sync picture from. iTunes chokes on this - likely because of the number of photos in that entire folder. So, I'm using a nested folder with copies of photos I really like. Sure, I could sync with iPhoto - but I haven't cataloged all my photos there as yet - and not sure I want to.

The biggest gripe I have with the touch is that when I scroll around through menus (coverflow, music lists, etc) or even around a web page - I somehow inadvertently click on a link or button. This is annoying and I would think there was a way to adjust the touch sensitivity or the 'click' sensitivity. But there isn't. Yeah, some bozo will say that I need to practice using it more - but it's more than that.

The second biggest gripe I have is the one everyone has - no way to control music without taking the damn thing out of my pocket and firing up the screen. This is ridiculous.

The third biggest gripe I have is the inability to open a link into a new web page. Yes, you can open a second web page, but not open a link on a page into a new page. Pain in the ass.

I'd like to say more on using the Touch, but this post is too long already.

I will close by mentioning that I did find a decent pouch for the Touch. Given this product is just released, there isn't Jack for accessories available. I first put it in an old Timbuktu 3G iPod nylon case. But this was too bulky in my shirt pocket, and didn't fit too well. Then on a whim, I poked around the camera section of Yodobashi (after not finding anything in the Mac section). I found this little microfiber cleaning cloth bag made by Hama that just fits my iPod touch and is thin. Only ¥950! I remember seeing self cleaning iPods bags on Waterfield Design's site, but this one is nicer - has a draw string. This product is available outside Japan, and is made by a German company I think. And it works well, self-cleaning the iPod while it's inside. You can see what it looks like here.

YAMBR - Yet Another MacBook Rumor

This is getting tiring...

Go here, and lose all hope.

New iPod Redux

Since the new iPod Nano, Classic, & Touch were announced - there have been quite a few reviews, software updates, unboxings, and so on. The Touch has begun to show up in Apple stores, although Apple has failed to fill the pre-orders first. (What's up with THAT?!)

There are already complaints about quality control issues, including poorly mounted nano screens,  iPhone code  & uninstalled operating systems running on the Touch, Touch display problems, and iTunes Store snafus. 

Nano

Reviews have been favorable, with people raving about the screen and ability to see vids. Here is a typical Nano review. The cons seem to be an unpolished UI (user interface) - and a lot of folks think the new size is great. I would have to say that this iPod isn't really Nano anymore, more like a sawed off classic. And I don't find it easy to hold or use for long periods. The best thing I enjoyed about the 1G Nano was its truly Nano size. Apple has lost sight of this, unfortunately. And I really get fed up with MacSheep like MacWorld that think every Apple product has to have minimum of 4 rating. PlayList (MWs iPod site) gave the Nano a 4.5 rating. Ridiculous. Subjective. Nonsense.

Classic

Fanboys think this huge storage tank is great idea, despite the archaic form factor and (still) miscrocopic screen - plus the new 'features'. At least Chris Breen on Playlist hit the Classic with a 3.5 rating (should be 3.0 - but at least he is partially honest). Breen hits on the sluggish UI, useless Coverflow (finally someone at a major Mac media outlet gets it), as well as the lack of compatibility with older iPod games, and the incompatibility of current dock connectors for video out.  Shockingly, AppleInsider gave the Classic a higher rating (4) - mostly overlooking the problems. Fanboys.

Touch

Since I pre-ordered the Touch - I've been interested to hear about it. Unfortunately, what I've read is disappointing. First, WTF is Apple doing putting the Touch in stores before shipping to pre-ordered customers? Unacceptable. The people that went to the trouble of making an order in advance should be rewarded, not penalized. Why reward those that have the time to run down to an Apple store? That being said, perhaps a delay will improve the chances I don't get a dog or defective model.

The things that bother me from the reviews/unboxings are the inferior screens (washed out blacks) and the crippled features - like iCal editting. Jobs said it was the same screen as in the iPhone - but for many of the early touch recipients - this is a lie. Not only is it not the same size, the quality problems are not acceptable. Second, when the iTouch first went up on the Apple store - iCal editing was listed as a feature. Now this has been removed. For WHAT? It makes no sense why Apple would remove this small feature.

Further reports suggest Apple is not giving the touch many features that one would expect in a touch screen device with Wifi. This AppleInsider review takes a stab to explain why the Touch lacks these features, and tries to make the argument that the Touch is not an iPhone , but an iPod. The problem with this is that it really isn't an iPod either. You can't play any iPod games on it (WTF - is a touch interface more limiting that a freaking scroll wheel?!), there doesn't seem to be a way to click to advance your song (or a remote) with no visuals, there is no EQ (apparently), and you can't even make it a storage device. 

Although it's not a phone (and thanks be for that), it has all these interactive features that seem to be underutilized with the current OS. The point of having WiFi seems to be solely centered on selling iTunes content (though not videos). Although having a Safari browser is great - that seems to be the only way to view things like pdf files (you have to store them online somewhere and actually access WiFi to view them). 

Hey Apple, I want my freaking media player to actually display all my media - not just what YOU want to sell me!

Omitting a mail app, text browsing, and any sort of reason to type text (except on iTunes store and web browsing) sort of makes it POINTLESS to have such sophisticated text entry capabilities. What is the point of this? Put a freaking Preview App on this puppy?

I'm also irritated by Steve Jobs stating Apple doesn't want 3rd parties to develop apps (unless they don't involve internet) because internet interactive apps threaten the user experience. WTF. 

Hey Steve, did you ever think that maybe people want to use the internet in ways THEY want to? And if you want developers to focus on non-internet apps, why don't you release a developer kit or way to develop Touch/iPhone Apps that doesn't require Safari? Or better yet, how about a file system that allows us to upload what we want and a way to view text/pdfs without connecting to the goddamn internet?

What's the point of putting OSX on this iPod if it's not actually giving us a real operating system? I don't get it.

Don't get me wrong - I'm really looking forward to getting my Touch, and I'm betting I can overlook some of the issues if the thing works well. But I'm starting to wonder if Apple/Jobs wants to control everything to the point where people feel their choices are too limited.

Maybe this is why my brother feels Apple hardware/software doesn't let you do what you want with it.

Two Great Free Software Goodies

I came across two apps that I'm betting many people will find useful on their Macs: Milkyway and RapidoStart.

Milkyway (MW) is a small program by Launay Software that previews your image files with a pop-up window that you can resize. I tried this out because of a complaint from my wife. My wife was told me the other day that she couldn't easily preview images by selecting them with a large enough window in the finder. She also didn't really want to use iPhoto (because it's sluggish as hell, in part).

So, recently, MW popped up on MacUpdate with a new version. I kind of remember downloading this in the past, but it didn't work right - but my memory is fuzzy. When it's installed and you start the app, it stays out of sight. You can choose to show the icon in the menubar (way cool) and you can choose to have it start on log-in.

The MW pop up previews can be resized considerably, and you can also move the window wherever you like on your screen for future pop-ups. It also has this 3D glass effect - nice touch - that you can choose to disable if it's annoying. Give MW a try! I like it, and it's just unobtrusive enough to like.

The other free app I think many of you will like is RapidoStart, by App4Mac - makers of some other free apps with the "Rapido" prefix, like "RapidoWrite". [Note - I sort of recall that this RapidoWrite was shareware at one point - got a note from the developer once. Maybe it didn't sell well.] App4Mac also makes other apps in the shareware or commercial category as well.

RapidoStart (RS) was updated recently and caught my eye in a discussion about uses with QuickSilver. RS is essentially a supplemental dock you can call up when you need it by clicking on a small green tab in the corner - or with a key-command. The pop-up dock is customizable; you can add what ever apps or files you want and even make several sets of things for different purposes (e.g., image manipulation apps, PDF apps, research project docs). For those that don't like the non-visual nature of QuickSilver, it provides a visual way to get at apps you don't have room for on the doc. And if you are someone like me, with many apps I use for different purposes (and you can't remember the names) - RS seems like a great way to get to these apps. Unlike Quicksilver, which learns your patterns and sets up the keyboard shortcuts, you'll have to customize RS your self for the files you want to access.

The pop-up window is gorgeous - well rendered, and the app is very solid. Give it a shot and see if it helps your work flow.

Nano and Classic - Inferior?

A friend of mine took some time to look over the new iPod Classic and iPod Nano at Bic Camera in Shinjuku today. His comments were a bit surprising, but not unexpected.

He sent me a phone message saying that the new iPods were very sluggish, with a 1 second delay when trying to browse via coverflow. I sort of expected this new UI would tax any processor, but assumed Apple would use the appropriate components to avoid this. I asked him for clarifications on sluggishness with Coverflow turned off and this is part of the email he sent me. Keep in mind that this was someone who was set to buy a high capacity classic after seeing the product introductions on the 5th.

"Now that I've had a day for the new releases to sink in and actually touched 2 of the 3 new releases, I think this was a very poor, if not terrible set of updates. The nano is pretty much unusable, especially with my man-sized hands. The scroll wheel is very narrow, and slick, and unresponsive, then add in the frequent delays even in non-graphical menus like settings, never mind when you are looking at album art and other stuff, and you get a very poor user experience. Cover flow is just one option once you click on Music, along with the usual albums, artists, songs, etc. The edges on the nano are razor sharp as well, not something you want to hold and fondle in your hand like the 4g iPod and all earlier versions."

Wow! I don't think he will be the only one to have this impression on the UI and reponsiveness. If this is the case, Apple has made a huge boo-boo. Perhaps some of this can be addressed via an update to iPod firmware.

I'm also surprised about the click wheel. I don't have big hands, but fairly thick fingers and I can use my 1G Nano's click wheel easily. Did Apple use a smaller click wheel on this fatter Nano? He goes on about the edges on the Nano and the Classic.

"I read an article online by some guy who said one of the big subconscious reasons why people wanted an iPod so much was that it was so comfortable and sexy to hold with it's totally round and smooth edges. I love that feature of my 4G iPod and that was one big reason why I was unmotivated to buy a 5G, sharp edges.

The silver classic looks great, like a true Powerbook accessory, but again, has rough edges. And the UI is possibly even slower on the classic than the nano, also the clickwheel is very unresponsive and slick, but at least its a decent size.

I put hands on both classics on display, both sluggish UI's, and one nano, also sluggish..."

I kind of like the shape of my 3G iPod too, but I never had a 5G or used a 5G long enough to have an opinion about the edges. My 1G Nano has sharp edges and I sort of like that form factor more than the 2G Nanos. I'm very surprised to hear that the Classics may be more sluggish than the Nanos. You have to wonder what Apple has done here. Maybe these new hard drives' access speeds are not all that great?

He goes on to disparage what others did about the 3G Nano even before they were released - the shape.

"The nano fatty just looks bad. In person it looks like a horrible square. In hand it feels cumbersome. The rectangle is the ideal shape for an iPod. They've screwed themselves now with the nano. It has a silver metal back as usual, I read somewhere it was all aluminum like the 2G nano and mini, but that's not true, highly scratchable steel on back as always."

If someone like him (a Mac guy) dislikes these new iPods, I can't help but wonder if others feel the same way. Combined with what I feel are awful colors, maybe Apple has lost its aesthetic edge.

If others have seen these units in person - let me know.

Update:
I had a chance to look at new Nano and Classic at an electronics retailer in Machida. I have to second the comments above. UI is sluggish with both iPods, worse for the Classic. And the edges are definitely uncool, unpleasant even. You won't want to hold these for long. The problem is the bevel on the front - the corner is just awful. It gives these iPods a cheap, unfinished, poorly designed feel. I can't understand why Apple would do this. I'm hoping that the Touch has a nicer feel to it.

I also spoke with my brother (Windoze User / Mac Hater) about the Touch to get his impressions. He didn't pay attention to the event or even bother to look into these units. When I explained a few details about the Touch, he sounded impressed with the screen but was very disappointed about the storage limitation. He wanted to know why Apple couldn't at least make the thing upgradeable with flash memory cards or something like that. You see this in plenty of phones these days, and some mp3 players had slots for this. I can see his thinking - but wonder if compatibility issues with flash cards (like I have with my SD card) are one reason for omitting these slots.